A Diary Told Through The Arts

Menu

Tag Archives: jasonsudeikis

‘Colossal’ is one of those difficult movies to describe, and that almost turned me off it. It’s a comedy, a little bit of a drama, a thriller, a sci-fi. It’s a lot of things, but director Nacho Vigalondo makes sure everything is balanced. the first part of the film is kind of fun, as it sets up its whole premise, and the second half of the film gets a lot darker. Some may think the film is a bit schizophrenic that way, but that didn’t bother me as I thought the progression was warranted. To say anything else would be to spoil the movie.

And it has great performances. I had wondered about Anne Hathaway – has she suffered the Academy Best Supporting Actress curse? But she is great here, giving an innocent yet guilty vibe that reminded me of her earlier less-affected performances. Jason Sudeikis nearly steals the movie from her come the latter part of the film. I have never gotten his appeal, as he always played affable guy roles. I think now I would like to see him in darker roles.

After all that, I would say that I wish I loved the movie. I liked it a lot, and admire it as well, but I had no connection to it. It’s not one I would seek to see again or ever. It’s all me, for sure. And it is also a little sad that audiences aren’t discovering the film, but I bet it will find audiences at home, and will have a cult following.

‘Tumbledown’ (directed by Sean Mewshaw) is set in a cold cabin in Maine, and it is beautifully photographed. But the action never warms up in this arctic love story. Rebecca Hall plays a young widow whose husband, Hunter, becomes one of those music sensations after he passes away. Jason Sudeikis plays Andrew, an author interested in writing a book about his life. Of course, they are meant to have sparks, but there is zero chemistry between the two actors that nothing ever happens that is of interest to the viewer. Hall’s character, Hannah, is still too much in love with her husband, and she broods and is disinterested in anything else. Hall is a good actress so it’s surprising to see that there are no layers in Hannah – even when she tries to be that wacky widow in some scenes, she still comes across as that forlorn young widow. And Sudeikis seems all wrong for the role – his comedic tics come out of nowhere and does not serve the character and the story. I had high hopes from this film, and am sad to find myself disappointed. I re-started watching this film several times because I couldn’t get its groove: maybe it was never meant to be for me.